What I Wore to Work Today: Mon, Jan 31Cardigan: TargetTank top: Old NavySkirt: Charlotte Russe, made smaller by meShoes: Target

Ok, so I actually took this picture on Sunday and not Monday, after I got home from church and decided I was going to wear it again to work the next day too.

Yes, I said church. I’ve been going to church since the beginning of Advent in December as part of Operation Avoid Crushing Depression. Maybe the emptiness I was feeling was the absence of God, religion, faith, and/or spirituality? While maybe it was and probably it wasn’t, I no longer feel on the precipice of a dark dark canyon. So far I’ve been enjoying the routine of putting on nice clothes — sure, some people wear jeans and tshirts, and I prefer dressing up a little — and going to church on Sunday mornings, taking an hour for mindfulness in a community of people celebrating faith, thanksgiving, and good works. Yep, mornings! When I go to CrossFit on Saturday I’m up before 10 o’clock both days. In the morning. On purpose.

I like the latest church, a Lutheran congregation, best so far — mostly because it seems more liberal than the previous one, a different Lutheran church. I’ve been choosing churches based on a 2 mile radius from my apartment that start no earlier than 10:00, preferably later, rather than any specific theology. This one is at 10:45 and takes less than ten minutes door-to-pew. I don’t consider myself Christian or take communion when it’s offered and I remain quiet during some of the Jesus-is-my-Savior affirmations, which are much fewer at this church than the last one.

So yeah, I run for fun, wake up several hours before noon on weekends, and I attend church almost every week. I don’t recognize myself either.

Source: 50% off Saturday Goodwill Cost to me: $3? $5?Time: 20 minutes to make it smaller, cut it shorter (no hem required because of the material)

I wore this dress at a dinner party at my place yesterday evening. I made pasta and a salad, people brought hors d’oeuvres and wine, and we congratulated ourselves on our sophistication. I mean, we were at a dinner party, with cloth napkins and a tablecloth.

I received compliments on my skirt from 5 different people. I made it slightly smaller since the first time I wore it so that it didn’t sit quite so low on my hips. After work I felt like wearing socks so before my Excel class I changed into boots and swapped the gray belt for a black one.

I didn’t try on this button-down shirt when I pulled it from the rack on a recent $1 Thursday at Goodwill because hey, it’s only a buck and it looks close enough. A few minutes with an iron and it’s totally presentable for the office.

I started getting sick on Tuesday and spent most of the night with a 103.4 degree fever. I missed three days of work, burning my paid time off with stupid illness instead of gallivanting around St. Lucia or something. I’m back now and I’m regaining my strength.

The dollar day at Goodwill is fantastic! I bought this pink suit and ruffled armpit-centric blouse with satin bow for a buck each. “Dry Clean Only”? Into the washer you go! As much I get a kick out of the polyester-y pink tweed that says “while my husband is running for senator I sit on two charity boards and reminisce about when I was still in the corporate world”, I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything with the jacket and it will be donated again. Its collarless v-neckline does nothing for me in person, although isn’t so terrible in the picture.

What I Wore to Work Today: Fri, Jan 14Blouse: A mall store I don’t remember several years agoJeans: RossSneakers: Payless

The buttons on this shirt are little clear plastic gems glued to a tiny metal ring. First, they all popped off one by one when the thread broke so I sewed them back on securely. (That’s what I get for paying $7 for a new blouse, eh?) Then the gem parts started falling off so I fixed them with my glue gun. When the latest gem came off I hung it in my sewing room closet and there it remained since, oh, let’s say last February. I finally fixed it, substituting a small clear button at the bottom where the gem piece went missing. It’s not noticeable at all and blends right in with the polka-dots, and now this ruffly blouse with its own belt is back in my wardrobe.

How many other things in my life could be fixed or changed or addressed with 10 minutes of attention, including the time to decide which (possibly metaphorical) button to select? I feel like there’s a lesson in here somewhere…

See all those exclamation points? I ran my first half-marathon today! My first objective was simply to finish and my second was to beat 3:30. A year ago I thought under 3 hours would be a good goal, and recently when I still hadn’t done all that “training” stuff I added some time. Turns out I didn’t need to because my watch said 2:38:33!!!! Official chip time still pending. Update: Chip time 2:38:11.

I ended up running all of it except the water stations and the last quarter of mile 9, which I didn’t know was even a possibility for me. The plan was to do intervals of running and walking, and I kept saying, “Ok, I’ll walk at 2 miles… well, might as well go a bit more than 3 so I can say I ran the farthest without walking than I’ve done before… well, 5 would be pretty cool… let’s make it the first half and then I’ll alternate…” When I switched to walking for a moment after the 7 mile point I was surprised to find that walking hurt just as much, if not more, than my running stride and my legs felt heavy and tight in a new way. So back to a jog it was. I walked for a song at the end of a long shallow hill right before mile 10. The last 3 miles hurt. I finished strong for the last 100 yards, running at a serious clip with reserves I didn’t know I had.

Everything hurts now, especially my right hip flexor. I climbed the stairs to my 2nd floor apartment like a child just learning steps: left leg up, then right leg to the same step, left leg up, then right leg to the same step. When I got undressed to take a much-needed shower, I couldn’t raise my foot to pull off my pants so instead I bent over at the waist to drop trou to the ankle and just barely stepped out of them.

My friend beat her goal time too, finishing around 1:48.

My plans to go to the cowboy karaoke bar tonight during this 3-day weekend might be scuttled by being hobbled. I don’t think I could drive a car let alone two-step on the dance floor.

I’ll be up super early tomorrow for my first half-marathon. It starts at 8:30 a.m. and due to the wave start I’ll probably get going a half hour later (I’m in corral 24 of 30; last year there were 22,000 half-marathon finishers). I hope to cross the line between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. Remember that talk of training months and months ago? Yeah, it didn’t happen. The farthest I’ve run is still 3 miles, so this is going to be a mix of running, walking, and slowly trudging along cursing Past Self’s laziness and lack of discipline.

I’m going to wear my participant t-shirt and finisher’s medal — assuming I finish — for the next three weeks straight.